Man drowns when rope collapses during river rescue

This is the horrific moment a rescue effort goes haywire and fails to save a drowning man.

The incident occurred near Mysore in India on June 3.

Somashekar, 42, a senior scientist from Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) had gone to Chunchunkatte waterfalls with his family on a weekend trip.

At 4.30pm a hydroelectric power station in the upstream suddenly released water leading to a surge in the surge in the flow of the river.

Somshekar and another man got trapped amidst the boulders and local villagers rushed in to rescue them.

Two men used a makeshit rope to pull Somshekar to safety. But the rope snapped under his weight and as bystanders shrieked in horror as he was swept away.

His body was found today (June 4).

An eyewitness Lakshmisha said: “Two local men fastened a rope using clothes as they had to pull him out quickly before the water level rose further. That gave in and resulted in tragedy.”

The power station alerts people before discharging water by blaring a siren. But tourists are not aware of it, local villagers said.